Federal employees are receiving an early Christmas present from President Joe Biden.
Biden issued an executive order Wednesday announcing all executive departments and agencies will be closed on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, giving employees the day off.
"The heads of executive departments and agencies may determine that certain offices and installations of their organizations, or parts thereof, must remain open and that certain employees must report for duty on December 24, 2024, for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need," Biden wrote in his order.
While Christmas Day is a federal holiday, Christmas Eve is not.
The last time federal employees received Christmas Eve off was 2020, when President-elect Donald Trump gave employees the day off during the final month of his first term.
Trump also closed agencies on Christmas Eve in 2018 and 2019. In 2014, then-President Barack Obama gave federal employees the day after Christmas off, and in 2012, employees had Christmas Eve off. Former President George W. Bush gave federal workers the day off for Christmas Eve in 2001 and 2007.
Typically, presidents have given federal employees half days on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday in 2022 and a Sunday in 2023.
The federal government will shut down on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 12:01 a.m. unless a federal spending bill is signed into law.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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